ShopRite and Kimberly-Clark Partner to Bring Trees to Newark

October 08, 2014

Keasbey, NJ (October 8, 2014) -- ShopRite and Kimberly-Clark have partnered to bring trees to the city of Newark with a donation of $50,000 to the Greater Newark Conservancy’s summer Urban Tree Tenders intern program. The Urban Tree Tenders program provides supervised training for Newark youth in landscaping and horticulture to increase employability and earning potential. The donation helped to employ eight summer interns as well as the purchase of specialized tree mapping equipment and more than 100 trees to be planted throughout the city.

A tree planting and check presentation to commemorate this partnership took place on Tuesday, October 7, 2014 at 2:00 PM at 32 Prince Street in Newark. In attendance were Donald Payne, Jr.; Stephanie Greenwood of the Newark Office of Sustainability; Neil Greenstein, owner and operator of the future ShopRite of Newark; representatives from Kimberly-Clark and Greater Newark Conservancy Executive Director Robin Dougherty.

The tree planting ceremony will took place on Prince Street, a symbolic location directly in between the Greater Newark Conservancy’s main headquarters and the future ShopRite of Newark. Scheduled to open in April 2015, the store will be family-owned and operated by the Greenstein family, which also owns and operates the nearby ShopRite of Brookdale in Bloomfield.

“My family and I are so pleased to be bringing a new ShopRite store to Newark and have been overwhelmed with the warm welcome and support we have received from the community. Partnering with the Greater Newark Conservancy and supporting this internship program is a wonderful way to give back to our new neighbors,” said Neil Greenstein, owner and operator of the future ShopRite of Newark, scheduled to open in April 2015. “We are personally invested in this neighborhood and the opportunity to serve the Newark community and its youth is a natural extension of our family’s 65 year history of service to the people of New Jersey.”

“Kimberly-Clark is proud to provide this $50,000 donation to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to support sustainability efforts and programs, such as this partnership between ShopRite and the Greater Newark Conservancy,” said Peggy Ward, Sustainability Strategy Leader, Kimberly-Clark. “As a company, we source 100 percent of the fiber used in our products from certified suppliers, including Scott® Brand, Viva® Brand, Cottonelle® and Kleenex® Brand, and we are focused on sustainability as a part of our policies and goals.”
“Involving students and Newark residents in the tree planting process furthers the Conservancy's goals of green job training and education about the importance of trees in reducing storm water runoff which pollutes our urban waters," said Robin Dougherty, Executive Director of Greater Newark Conservancy. "Greater Newark Conservancy is proud to partner with Kimberly-Clark and ShopRite to further the goals of Newark’s Sustainability Action Plan by bringing trees to Newark’s Central Ward."

As part of both companies’ commitment to the environment, ShopRite and Kimberly-Clark have also teamed up to bring more FSC-certified paper products to ShopRite stores, providing customers with more opportunities to practice a sustainable lifestyle. Supporting the city of Newark’s efforts to preserve and care for its more than 100 trees through this internship program is a natural extension of this endeavor to protect local forestry and natural resources for future generations to enjoy.

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About ShopRite
ShopRite is the registered trademark of Wakefern Food Corp., a retailer-owned cooperative based in Keasbey, NJ, and the largest supermarket cooperative in the United States. With more than 250 ShopRite supermarkets located throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland, ShopRite serves more than six million customers each week. A long-time supporter of key community efforts, ShopRite is dedicated to fighting hunger in the communities it serves. Through its ShopRite Partners In Caring program, ShopRite has donated $35 million to 1,700 worthy charities and food banks since the program began in 1999. As a title sponsor of the LPGA’s ShopRite Classic, ShopRite has raised more than $27 million for local organizations, hospitals and community groups. Progressive Grocer named ShopRite its 2011 Retailer of the Year and Supermarket News awarded ShopRite its 2011 Retail Excellence Award. For more information, please visit www.ShopRite.com.

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